Amazon (AMZN 3.43%) launched its online pharmacy in November 2020. Some might have wondered at the time just how big of a splash the e-commerce giant would make in the pharmacy industry. We now know the answer: a huge one.
On Thursday, Blue Shield of California announced it's teaming up with Amazon Pharmacy and several other companies to lower prescription drug costs for its members. The nonprofit health plan called the collaboration a "first-of-its-kind model to transform prescription drug care." Is Amazon stock a buy after landing this big deal with Blue Shield of California?
Turning blue
In the past, Blue Shield of California has dealt primarily with major pharmacy chains that operated brick-and-mortar stores. For more than 15 years, it used CVS Health for pharmacy benefits management.
Now, however, Amazon Pharmacy will play a key role in the California health plan's prescription drug model. The online pharmacy will provide 24/7 access to pharmacists for Blue Shield of California's members. It will clearly state medication prices up front, "provide fast and free delivery" of prescription drugs, and keep members informed of status updates.
Amazon Pharmacy isn't the only winner in this new plan. Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drug Company will help implement a transparent and more cost-effective pricing model. Abarca will use its Darwin platform to process prescription drug claims. Prime Therapeutics, owned by 19 Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, will negotiate prescription medication prices with drugmakers.
CVS Health is the notable loser in the new model. Its shares fell nearly 10% in early trading on Thursday. However, the company's CVS Caremark unit will continue to provide specialty pharmacy services for Blue Shield of California members.
Unanswered details
Blue Shield of California has 4.8 million members. It spent over $3 billion on prescription medications last year. The nonprofit organization expects to save as much as $500 million per year on prescription drugs once its new model is fully implemented.
But there are some details for which answers aren't available at this point. In particular, we don't know the financial arrangements of the transformative plan.
The unanswered questions go beyond just Amazon Pharmacy's partnership with Blue Shield of California, though. Amazon didn't mention this business even once in its latest quarterly or annual regulatory filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy did speak briefly about Amazon Pharmacy in the company's second-quarter conference call earlier this month. He noted that Amazon Pharmacy has doubled its number of active customers over the past year. Jassy also said that Amazon is "pleased with the response to RxPass," a reference to a service that allows Amazon Prime members to receive generic drugs for $5 per month with free home delivery.
Buy Amazon stock?
Investors pretty much yawned at the big news for Amazon Pharmacy. Shares of Amazon barely moved in early trading on Thursday. That's not surprising. Even though no financial details are available about the deal with Blue Shield of California, it's unlikely to move the needle very much for Amazon.
The reality is that it's still too early with any of Amazon's investments in healthcare to provide a compelling reason on their own to buy the stock. However, there are other reasons to do so, in my view.
Amazon's profits continue to grow thanks to an increased focus on holding down costs. The improved economic outlook bodes well for the company's business. Perhaps most importantly, the generative artificial intelligence (AI) boom should provide a massive tailwind for Amazon's cloud services unit for years to come.
Sure, Amazon Pharmacy's latest big splash with its Blue Shield of California partnership probably amounts to only a tiny ripple in the broader pool of Amazon's business. But the overall opportunities for Amazon are great enough to justify investors at least dipping their toes in the water with this high-flying stock.
